Rockman Elysium

Translated by M. Sipher back in the day...

CYGNUS
Developer Comments
There's been Irregular Hunter organizations in previous games, but we've never seen anyone from them outside of the Hunters, so this time I wanted to add some depth to that area. Bearing in mind ties to the previous games, I considered a young(?) Cygnus having the previous commissioner retire in the sense of taking responsibility for deciding on the Repliforce. Hm? What kind of person is the former commissioner? Well, he has whiskers and looks important, so maybe he's like General? (grin)
Designer Comments
Him being an officer, I was worried he'd end up resembling Colonel, but I was strangely aware of it becoming an odd tale of not being able to determine his role from his form, so I boldly gave him a form that was definitive. His big shoulders and the six crystals on his chest convey his "importance level."

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"I Want Rockman Fans to Wait Patiently"

The fans nurtured us

To be honest, the first time I drew Rockman, I didn’t consider what contemporary children… the children of 1987 would think of it. I did all my designing thinking only of what sort of heroes and robots there were, and what I thought was cool, when I was a child. I also didn’t have time to spare to think about the users. But at the time of the first game, I had a somewhat self-centered sense of drawing what I myself thought was cute or was fun.

When that changed was around Rockman 3 or Rockman 4. While looking at the loads of postcards for the boss character contest, I became intensely aware of the existence of the fans.

Previously, at the 20th anniversary event (held Nov. 18, 2007, at Ikebukuro in Tokyo), a really large number of fans came together. It impressed on me anew that even now there are an incredible number of people who love the old-fashioned Rockman. I’d like to make a Rockman for those fans, one that wouldn’t betray their expectations.

[T.N.: C’mon, Inafune, don’t be shy, who’s your favorite character?^^]

p. 116, X1 major characters
Inafune: In the regular course of events, I would do the main character and ask Kaji to do the sub-character, but this time we reversed it. I left Rockman up to Kaji, and I did the sub-character “Zero.” And as I’ve said in many places, personally I wanted to make Zero a player character. I wanted to try an “altered Rockman” in my own way, and make the story a little harder. [T.N.: “Hard” here is not game difficulty, more like “hard-boiled” fiction.]
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p. 6, very first game
Inafune: I was assigned to Rockman, in charge of character design, in the days when I didn’t know anything about making games. Everything was strange in a strange world to me -- do I do this, do I do that? It was great fun, but very hectic. The man who originally planned the project, my mentor, had started as a designer, and he made the dot picture [T.N.: I’m pretty sure this is “sprite”] for Rockman, and prototypes of Roll and Dr. Light. I turned them into working illustrations, and touched up the designs, and such.

[T.N.: I’m disappointed he doesn’t give the name of his mentor, because that would be the person with the very first concept of Rockman. Maybe it’s such a V.I.P. at Capcom Inafune assumes the Japanese fans already know who he means? Or maybe it’s someone who’s left the company, so they don’t like to talk about him? Inafune refers to him as “Projectman,” like a Rockman character.^^]

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MOBILITY

Axl’s mobility is comparable to X and Zero, fit for a Special A. His overall ability at the dash, jump, and such is probably the same as theirs. Worth noting are his hovering and rolling skills. He has greater skill at hovering than X, and is able to fire weapons in midair while maintaining a stable position. You could say it’s an extremely effective ability for a Repliroid who relies mainly on shooting.
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WEAPONS

The Axl Bullets are Axl’s basic weapon, and his other equipment also has mostly projectiles. Generally, their impact is weak, but they can repeat rapidly. Also, his targeting is accurate, and he can quickly deal with enemies appearing from any direction. You could say he is a Repliroid who relies mainly on shooting, even more so than X. Moreover, he has the “Copy” ability, which is like a further upgrade of Zero’s Learning, and he can transform into or summon an enemy.
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AXL, the new-gen New Hero who’s lost his memory

A new-generation Repliroid who became a Hunter in admiration of X and Zero. He has the rare ability to copy the appearance and powers of others. He has no memory or record of before he was picked up by Red, the head of the vigilante group Red Alert. His personality and behavior patterns are somewhat immature, and at times he acts just as he pleases without thinking of others, but he has great powers.

[Picture, Axl speaking to Zero] “Me, I don’t remember what happened in the past. Red picked me up… and thanks to this power we beat some tough opponents.” [Caption] Axl has no memories before Red Alert. He seems to want to investigate the mystery of his origin.

Basic Data
Equipment: Axl Bullets
Special Weapons: Double Bullets, G Launcher, Raygun, Copy Shot
Post: Irregular Hunters
Remarks: No record prior to Red Alert period




[Translator’s Exasperated Note: This is getting ridiculous! There’s not much text on this page to begin with, they didn’t need to use it to tell us FIVE TIMES that Axl has no past! It looks like the work of a schoolkid trying to pad out a book report.]


ETA we have no "axl" tag!

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

X’s relations with the people around him are profound. His creator, Dr. Light. His best friend, Zero. His new subordinate, Axl. Above all, his fated archenemy, Sigma. Even among these, Dr. Light’s influence looms large; X’s pacifism seems to be influenced by Dr. Light’s thinking.

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MILITARY RECORD

At first X was a member of the 17th Squad. After its captain, Sigma, started an uprising, X took the post of captain of the 17th, and took it upon himself to settle the incident. At the time of the Falling Colony incident, the Hunter organization fell into ruin, and even the 17th Elite Squad was disbanded. Afterwards, he became a leader figure to the Hunters. After the Nightmare Virus incident, hating conflict, he retired from active service, and sought a method for peaceful solutions at the Hunter base.
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CONNECTION TO OTHER WORKS

The setting of Rockman X is established about 100 years after the world of Rockman. It seems that after Dr. Light built Rockman, he developed X as a still more advanced version. Also, someone resembling Wily can be glimpsed in Zero’s vicinity.


Rockman series

Action games popular since the days of the Famicom [Japanese NES]. The story consists of fighting against Wily, who plots to take over the world. In addition to Rock and Dr. Light, appealing characters such as Forte, Blues, Roll, and Rush appear. They’re known as extremely difficult games.



[Translator’s Personal Opinion: Even as late as the Compendium, Capcom is still being coy about who built Zero. His personal history section begins. “Who developed Zero, for what purpose, is unclear.” They do drop broad hints, though, like this one here. Personally, I’d like to see them take their own statements seriously, and have it turn out to be someone who only resembles Wily. Maybe it’s Albert’s little-known younger brother, Berthold Wily? ^_^

Dr. Cain’s diary

4/8
Nothing’s turned up yet.
Last month I walked all over the wasteland looking for fossil proof of the plants that lived in the Middle Ages [see Trans. Note below], but nothing turned up.
Let me break ground at a new site tomorrow.
Maybe I’ll find something.
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PERSONAL HISTORY

He appears to have been developed by Dr. Light, circa 20xx, as a robot with advanced mental capacities roughly the same as a human’s. After Dr. Light’s death, he was sealed away for approximately 100 years, but revived by Dr. Cain, who discovered his capsule. His internal structure has many parts that defy analysis to this day, despite Dr. Cain’s research.
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ETA: As I suspected, it’s been rewritten. I found the original wording on a fan site:

“X” is a new type of robot with more complex, human-like mental capabilities. However, these capabilities are also extremely dangerous. If “X,” of his own volition, ever broke the basic law of robotics, “A robot must not injure a human,” likely nothing could stop him, and the results would be fearsome.

If I had 30 years, it would be possible to confirm his safety. However, my life will not last that long, and there is no one to whom I can entrust my research. Therefore I will seal him in this capsule. This capsule will test his internal structure for me until his safety is confirmed. Until then, please do not open the capsule.

“X” is laden with both unlimited possibility and unlimited danger. I just hope it turns out for the best.

20XX 9/18 Thomas Light



[This is much closer to the English version given in the same book, it must be the one the official translator was working from.]

[This page is more about gameplay than story or character development.]


WEAPONS

X’s basic weapon is the X Buster built into his hand. But his truly distinctive feature lies in his variety of expansions. Almost all Repliroids inherit his design concept, and their weapons can be reattached to X. The armors Dr. Light left are also important equipment.
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X’s character profile starts on p.4. It begins with the warning (in English) from the beginning of X1, attributed here to “T. Right.” Capcom must originally have meant his name to be spelled this way, because the Classic robots are labeled DWN and DRN, for Doctor Wily Number and Doctor Right Number. But I’ll spell his name Light from now on.

The banner across his picture reads, “X, the peace-loving Irregular Hunter.” The paragraph underneath reads, “An autonomous robot left by Dr. Light. At first he was ranked as a B-Class Hunter due to his gentle personality, as he cannot devote himself to duty wholeheartedly. But after repelling Sigma’s schemes time and again, he has now become a leader-like figure to the Hunters. He has high expandability, and by means of equipping special weapons and armor parts, can expect to be active under any conditions.”

There’s a picture from X7 of X scolding Axl, with a dialog box: “What are you saying! If you fight, you play into their hands! It will just be another meaningless fight.” The caption on the side reads, “Pacifist X hates conflict and always aims for a peaceful solution. However, to save the Earth from Sigma’s assault, reluctantly, he will fight.”

At the bottom, there’s a box with Basic Data. “Equipment: X Buster, Special Weapons (interchangeable), Power-up Parts, various Armors. Post: Captain of Unit 17. Hunter Rank: B ~ Special A. Remarks: Pacifist.”



Translator’s Random Notes: I have got to improve my handwriting. That does not say “expendability.”

And I still think “Remarks: Pacifist” sounds exactly like Vash the Stampede’s “Wanted” poster!

I have not found any full scripts of the RMX games in Japanese, with the exception of X8, which has a full script in Capcom’s official guidebook. This fan site offers the most dialog selections I’ve found for the other games.

I can’t guarantee I haven’t been influenced by the official version, but here, skipping the opening section, my translation of the X6 dialog selections:


( DEFEAT ONE INVESTIGATOR )